Looks like this’ll be the first year since 2014 that I don’t get a Mansfield-Metcalf dinner invitation in the mail.
What a pity.
I guess I can’t scan the mailers I get from Dems and show them to you anymore.
Sad times indeed.
I remember when I spent $60 on that Democratic shindig in 2015.
That was back when I still thought the Democratic Party was the Party that actually cared about people.
Turns out they mainly care about rich assholes on Wall Street and the corporations they run.
Anyways, I didn’t know anyone there and sat down at a table by myself.
I was joined about 5 minutes later by two young women and a young black man. They didn’t look like they knew anyone there either.
I remember standing in line for my plate of spaghetti and overcooked garlic bread.
There was a group of older women – in their 50s or 60s – that were just thrilled to be there.
And then we sat down and ate our food and listened to the speakers cajole us about how good it is to be a Democrat, how much the Party is winning.
I suppose most shindigs around the state are the same, whether D or R – too expensive and not that exciting.
Anyways, the 2017 Mansfield-Metcalf dinner is scheduled for March 18.
The illustrious Senator from New Jersey – Corey Booker – will be the keynote speaker.
I’m sure the Democrats will enjoy themselves.
Now, let’s discuss some more D and R stuff today.
What a pity.
I guess I can’t scan the mailers I get from Dems and show them to you anymore.
Sad times indeed.
I remember when I spent $60 on that Democratic shindig in 2015.
That was back when I still thought the Democratic Party was the Party that actually cared about people.
Turns out they mainly care about rich assholes on Wall Street and the corporations they run.
Anyways, I didn’t know anyone there and sat down at a table by myself.
I was joined about 5 minutes later by two young women and a young black man. They didn’t look like they knew anyone there either.
I remember standing in line for my plate of spaghetti and overcooked garlic bread.
There was a group of older women – in their 50s or 60s – that were just thrilled to be there.
And then we sat down and ate our food and listened to the speakers cajole us about how good it is to be a Democrat, how much the Party is winning.
I suppose most shindigs around the state are the same, whether D or R – too expensive and not that exciting.
Anyways, the 2017 Mansfield-Metcalf dinner is scheduled for March 18.
The illustrious Senator from New Jersey – Corey Booker – will be the keynote speaker.
I’m sure the Democrats will enjoy themselves.
Now, let’s discuss some more D and R stuff today.
The Healthcare Question
A few days ago Intelligent Discontent had a guest post from a young woman.
She talked about having a baby, and the $50,000 cost for that.
I took the opportunity to ask why it costs that much to have a baby in America.
After all, my wife and I had our son in China. I think it cost us about $800, although it might have been as high as $1,400.
This was a modern hospital with operating rooms and elevators and they even had running water.
And before you get too uppity, remember – Chinese students outrank American students in science, math, and reading.
So not only does the country make it affordable to have a child, they actually educate that child as well.
Not so in America.
I asked the question on ID as to why it costs so much in America, but I didn’t get much in the way of replies and then the site went off on another of its anti-gun tirades.
(Meanwhile in Missoula we had a 32-year-old woman actually kill a man with her car while she was drunk, but that incident doesn’t involve a gun so the writers at ID aren’t interested in it).
Yes, the things that are important in America – who has a gun vs. the death toll of alcohol or even how affordable health care is.
I think the latter affects way more people, but that’s just me.
So…why is it so expensive to have a baby in America, or any kind of healthcare for that matter?
We know that the average American family has seen their healthcare costs go up by 25% since 2007.
Meanwhile, wages went up by 2% since 2007.
In December The Hill told us that:
She talked about having a baby, and the $50,000 cost for that.
I took the opportunity to ask why it costs that much to have a baby in America.
After all, my wife and I had our son in China. I think it cost us about $800, although it might have been as high as $1,400.
This was a modern hospital with operating rooms and elevators and they even had running water.
And before you get too uppity, remember – Chinese students outrank American students in science, math, and reading.
So not only does the country make it affordable to have a child, they actually educate that child as well.
Not so in America.
I asked the question on ID as to why it costs so much in America, but I didn’t get much in the way of replies and then the site went off on another of its anti-gun tirades.
(Meanwhile in Missoula we had a 32-year-old woman actually kill a man with her car while she was drunk, but that incident doesn’t involve a gun so the writers at ID aren’t interested in it).
Yes, the things that are important in America – who has a gun vs. the death toll of alcohol or even how affordable health care is.
I think the latter affects way more people, but that’s just me.
So…why is it so expensive to have a baby in America, or any kind of healthcare for that matter?
We know that the average American family has seen their healthcare costs go up by 25% since 2007.
Meanwhile, wages went up by 2% since 2007.
In December The Hill told us that:
“Healthcare is so expensive in the United States because lobbyists within the healthcare industry ensure the government doesn’t regulate the industry.
...
When pharmaceutical companies charge egregious prices for life-saving drugs, we deplore the companies rather than pointing fingers at a government that allows companies free license to make our health into a commodity, no matter the cost. And why wouldn’t the government allow it? Some members of Congress have stakes in the healthcare industry, so they’re profiting too.
Congress — both Democrats and Republicans, represents corporate interests more than the very citizens that elected them. The wealthiest 10 percent of Americans have more influence over what passes in Congress than the rest of us. Meanwhile, 95 percent of all organizations lobbying the government represent the interests of the big corporations, compared to five percent representing public interest or labor unions.”
Back in 2013, PBS dug into the same question, ‘why are healthcare costs so high?’
“The first one is because the administrative costs of running our health care system are astronomical,” health economist David Cutler said. “About one quarter of health care cost is associated with administration, which is far higher than in any other country.”
So that’s 25% of your bill and after that he lists off what the next 15% is:
“Duke University Hospital has 900 hospital beds and 1,300 billing clerks. The typical Canadian hospital has a handful of billing clerks. Single-payer systems have fewer administrative needs.”
Most of the time people are hired just so the hospital can figure out how to get money from insurance.
There’s more, and in 2015 Investopedia had a lot of reasons why healthcare is so expensive in America.
Despite knowing why, I don’t think anything will change.
The first reason was the most telling – regulation.
Our representatives are so corrupt that they don’t even care that we know corporations bribe them to do what’s not in our best interests.
Until we clean up the corruption in politics, you’ll continue to pay $50,000 to have a baby.
In the rest of the world they’ll pay about $49,000 less.
If you think America is the best country in the world, you must be incredibly stupid.
How can America possibly be the best country when its people can’t even afford to have a kid?
Bullock Gets Religion
Bullock beat a guy that outspent him by $8 million.
Bullock outpolled Trump by 24%.
He’s a rare and endangered breed – a Democratic governor in a red, western state.
WTF?!?
Those kinds of politicians aren’t supposed to exist…at least according to our coastal Democrats.
Perhaps that’s why Bullock’s getting so much love from the coastal press, love that admonishes him to run for president in 2020.
I would love to see that.
If you think I put the governor through the ringer in 2016, just wait until the national folks go after him.
They’re paid to destroy.
Bullock said in Politico that Democrats need to be showing up to a lot more places “than just the East and the West Coast.”
He also mentioned that “rule number one in anything is showing up.”
I wonder what residents of Colstrip think of that statement.
Mostly, Bullock compared Montana with New York and Kansas and said that we need to look at the values that unite us.
“If we focus on those shared values, because so many of those shared values also translate directly to economic issues, as well, I think there’s a lot more and a lot better we’ll be doing next time around.”
Terrible speaker.
Terrible man of values.
Brian Schweitzer was the first to throw out this values nonsense a month or two ago, then Rob Quist picked up on it and now we see Bullock hopping on the train.
What the fuck are these guys talking about?
What values?
Go to law school and make shit-ton of money and then roll over anyone that gets in the way of your political ambitions...is that what we mean by 'values'?
I hope we hear more of this ‘values’ talk from Democrats.
I’ve heard that there’s a story developing on Bullock, one that could upset any ideas he has about going for the Senate in 2018 or 2020.
I hope he does go for the Senate at some point. The same people that showed us Walsh’s closet full of skeletons will show us Bullock’s as well.
That’s if the local media doesn’t get to it first. Shouldn’t be much longer.
Bullock outpolled Trump by 24%.
He’s a rare and endangered breed – a Democratic governor in a red, western state.
WTF?!?
Those kinds of politicians aren’t supposed to exist…at least according to our coastal Democrats.
Perhaps that’s why Bullock’s getting so much love from the coastal press, love that admonishes him to run for president in 2020.
I would love to see that.
If you think I put the governor through the ringer in 2016, just wait until the national folks go after him.
They’re paid to destroy.
Bullock said in Politico that Democrats need to be showing up to a lot more places “than just the East and the West Coast.”
He also mentioned that “rule number one in anything is showing up.”
I wonder what residents of Colstrip think of that statement.
Mostly, Bullock compared Montana with New York and Kansas and said that we need to look at the values that unite us.
“If we focus on those shared values, because so many of those shared values also translate directly to economic issues, as well, I think there’s a lot more and a lot better we’ll be doing next time around.”
Terrible speaker.
Terrible man of values.
Brian Schweitzer was the first to throw out this values nonsense a month or two ago, then Rob Quist picked up on it and now we see Bullock hopping on the train.
What the fuck are these guys talking about?
What values?
Go to law school and make shit-ton of money and then roll over anyone that gets in the way of your political ambitions...is that what we mean by 'values'?
I hope we hear more of this ‘values’ talk from Democrats.
I’ve heard that there’s a story developing on Bullock, one that could upset any ideas he has about going for the Senate in 2018 or 2020.
I hope he does go for the Senate at some point. The same people that showed us Walsh’s closet full of skeletons will show us Bullock’s as well.
That’s if the local media doesn’t get to it first. Shouldn’t be much longer.
The 200 Club
Finally I’ll talk about my books for a moment.
I have 12 books that have sold more than 200 copies.
I have 4 books that are approaching 200 sales.
I call these books the ‘200 Club.’
200 is a good number, I think.
Hey, I’m pretty low on the totem pole when it comes to book sales.
I’ve sold about 10,000 overall, but some authors sell that many in a month.
Mostly, you have to go with what works for you.
So what are these books?
I have 12 books that have sold more than 200 copies.
I have 4 books that are approaching 200 sales.
I call these books the ‘200 Club.’
200 is a good number, I think.
Hey, I’m pretty low on the totem pole when it comes to book sales.
I’ve sold about 10,000 overall, but some authors sell that many in a month.
Mostly, you have to go with what works for you.
So what are these books?
- The Warring States is at 199 sales right now, and the book took 4 years to get that.
- Fortin’s Furs has 197 sales, and it took 10 months to get that many.
- Tarot: The Mystery and the Mystique has 196 sales, and that book took almost 4 years to get that many.
- Finally there’s Dulce Base, which has 193 sales that took just over 2 years to get.
I’m working on the second Dulce Base book right now.
It’s full of conspiracy and alien lore and ufology. It’s got intrigue, thrills, and plenty of backstabbing.
It’s fun, and I’m having fun writing it.
I always have fun.
Why would you want anything else?
If your job isn’t fun, why are you doing it? Surely the money and the stuff it buys can’t make up for how shitty you feel.
Oh well.
I don’t make much money but I enjoy my days.
Perhaps you’ll enjoy one of my books. Feel free to check ‘em out on Amazon.
Thanks!
